Brian Kahn

5/20/14: This week on "Home Ground:" Evergreen State College was founded to offer integrated, flexible and reasonably-priced education. Its academic approach is unorthodox; instead of following pre-programmed curricula, students design their own programs of studies. Outgoing president Les Purce answers the question: in an age of specialization, how is Evergreen doing?

5/13/14: This week on "Home Ground:" Merriam Webster's dictionary defines "poem" as "a composition in verse, especially a highly developed, imaginative one." Poetry enjoys great popularity in some cultures, but not in the U.S. Does this matter? Can something be done about it? Tami Haaland, raised on a farm on the Hi-Line, thinks it does and it can. She's Montana's poet laureate.

4/22/14: This week on "Homeground:" Nearly all of us are grateful for our Constitutional rights, but most of us would have trouble naming exactly what they are. And what happens when individual and public rights seem to contradict one another? Montana Supreme Court Justice Beth Baker’s job is to know those rights, and, when they come into conflict, to make the call.

4/15/14: This week on "Homeground Radio:" Nearly one-third of American kids fail to graduate from high school, and many end up in dead-end jobs or in prison. “Alternative" high schools offer an answer. One, Helena College's Access to Success program, turns lives around. Really.

4/1/14: This week on "Homeground Radio:" Suppose we had a tool that could predict people's future problems: alcoholism, depression, diabetes, heart disease. In fact, we may have that tool. It's the Adverse Childhood Experiences test, or A.C.E. So now, what do we do with it? Dr.

3/25/14: This week on "Home Ground:" Last year, Robert Bonnie was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the Department of Agriculture's Under Secretary for Natural Resources and the Environment. The job matters; Bonnie overseas the U.S. Forest Service. Hear what this Kentucky farm boy has to say on climate change, forest fires, and on finding common ground.

3/18/14: This week on "Home Ground Radio:" As the changes in knowledge, technology, and economic systems accelerate, does higher education still matter? Can it help us all? University of Montana president Royce Engstrom says "yes."

For 200,000 years, humans have lived intimately with wild animals. We were captivated by their beauty, intelligence and power. The technology of the last two hundred years - 1,000th of our time on earth - hasseparated us. Does it matter? Sculptor and naturalist George Bumann thinks so.

Edward Snowden has broken the law to reveal what he believes is government abuse. In 1971, eight Americans did the same, burglarizing an FBI office, then sending the documents they found to the press. In the process, they changed our nation’s history.